Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles: Sales

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the environment of potential changes in electric car sales after the UK leaves the EU.

Jesse Norman: This Government has a number of initiatives in place to encourage electric vehicle ownership and has committed to invest more than £600m to 2020 to make the UK a leader not only in their use, but in their development and manufacture. The UK’s network of rapid charge points is the largest in Europe and has helped the UK become the largest market for electric vehicle sales in the EU.We have an established programme of policies in place to support the UK’s growing market for electric vehicles. In 2016 the UK had the highest sales of ultra low emission vehicles in the EU. The UK's exit from the EU will not reduce our ambition to be at the global forefront of the transition to electric vehicles and we remain committed to meeting our national and international climate change targets.

Lakes Railway Line: Electrification

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the completion date for the electrification of the Lakes Line from Oxenholme to Windermere.

Paul Maynard: We are committed to seeing improved services on the Lakes Line. Passengers in the Lake District will benefit from four direct services a day in each direction between Windermere and Manchester Airport from May 2018. From 2019, there will be brand new trains with more seats and better on-board facilities including air conditioning, toilets, free wi-fi and plug sockets, subject to business case. Northern, the train operator, will also begin work to explore the possibility of deploying alternative-fuel trains on the route by 2021, improving comfort and on-board facilities for passengers whilst protecting the sensitive environment of this World Heritage Site. This replaces plans to electrify the line between Windermere and Oxenholme.

Southern: Standards

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which of the 38 recommendations in the Gibb report his Department has decided not to implement.

Jesse Norman: Four recommendations made by Chris Gibb have not been accepted by the Department for Transport at this time. We are not currently reviewing off peak frequencies at low use stations, because a Thameslink consultation is under way. A recommendation to procure more Class 700 trains has not been accepted for commercial reasons. Chris Gibb also recommended a fares and ticketing review of Gatwick services. However, this is not consistent with Government fares policy. A recommendation to transfer specific routes to Transport for London requires further assessment.

Department for Transport: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff in his Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport set up a new Directorate last year to co-ordinate its EU Exit work alongside its existing EU and International work. Staff within the Directorate lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it is not possible to give an accurate figure.

Home Office

Home Office: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Amber Rudd: The UK’s exit from the EU is a cross-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the Home Office Europe Directorate and the Border Immigration and Citizenship System Policy and Strategy Group lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU exit and exit related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure on how many staff in the Home Office have responsibilities relating to exiting the EU.

Metropolitan Police

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to reduce the number of police officers in the Metropolitan Police Force during the course of the current Parliament.

Mr Nick Hurd: The 2015 Spending Review protected overall police spending in real terms, and the 2017/18 police funding settlement maintained that protection.It is a local decision for Police and Crime Commissioners, working with Chief Constables, to determine the composition and size of their workforce.

Metropolitan Police: Safer Neighbourhood Teams

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many metropolitan police officers there were serving in Greater London in Safer Neighbourhood Teams in (a) 2011 and (b) 2016.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of officers primarily employed in Neighbourhood Policing/Safer Neighbourhood roles by police force area. The number of full time equivalent police officers in the Metropolitan Police,primarily employed in Neighbourhood Policing/Safer Neighbourhood roles, can be found in the data tables published alongside the annual ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales Data as at 31 March 2016 can be found in Table F4 of the police workforce statistics published in July 2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/544954/police-workforce-tabs-jul16.ods Previous data were collected under a different framework, with different definitions. Therefore, data prior to 31 March 2015 are not directly comparable with later years. Although some functions may appear to be similar between the two, there are often differences in definitions, and so any attempts to compare across the two frameworks should be done with caution. Data under the old framework have been published since 2012, and can be found in the supplementary data tables of the relevant police workforce publications via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales Officers with multiple responsibilities or designations are recorded under their primary function. The data do not therefore provide a complete picture of all officers assigned to neighbourhood policing functions. A more reliable measure is the number of officers employed in ‘Local policing’ roles, which includes both neighbourhood and response functions. This measure is available for 2015 and 2016, but not for previous years where a different framework was used. Any comparisons at force level should be made with care due to collaboration arrangements between forces for particular functions. Additionally, police functions data are often affected by re-structuring within police forces. Therefore comparisons over time for specific functions should be made with care.

Counter-terrorism: Police

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were assigned to counter-terrorism duties in (a) 2011 and (b) 2016.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes police workforce data annually on the number of officers primarily employed in Counter Terrorism/Special Branch roles as part of the Police workforce, England and Wales statistical bulletin. This can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales. Data as at 31 March 2016 can be found in Table F4 of the police workforce statistics published in July 2016 at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/544954/police-workforce-tabs-jul16.ods and record that 3,888 officers were designated as primarily involved in counter-terrorism or Special Branch. This figure does not include all officers supporting counter-terrorism work and excludes many of those posts funded separately by the Counter-Terrorism Policing Grant and those in some national counter-terrorism functions. For reasons of national security, we do not publish the number or location of posts funded by the Counter-Terrorism Policing Grant. The published figures do not, therefore, reflect the total number of officers assigned to counter-terrorism policing. Previous data were collected under a different framework, with different definitions. Therefore, data prior to 31 March 2015 are not directly comparable with later years. Although some functions may appear to be similar between the two frameworks, there are often differences in definitions, and so any attempts to compare across the two should be done with caution. Data under the old framework have been published since 2012, and can be found in the supplementary data tables of the relevant police workforce publications via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales Any comparisons at force level should be made with care due to collaboration arrangements between forces for particular functions. Additionally, police functions data are often affected by re-structuring within police forces. Therefore comparisons over time for specific functions should be made with care.

Qatar: Counter-terrorism

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how much and (b) what forms of assistance have been provided to Qatar for countering terrorism as part of the Sharaka project between the UK and Qatar.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Sharaka is a bilateral forum between the United Kingdom and the State of Qatar. It covers a range of regional and bilateral issues, including occasional discussion of counter terrorism, for example our work through the Global Counter Daesh Coalition to tackle the threat posed by Daesh.

Qatar: Counter-terrorism

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what forms of collaboration have taken place between the UK and Qatar as part of the additional counter-terrorist financing training with Gulf partners announced in December 2016.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Since the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in December 2016, the Metropolitan Police – in conjunction with the Charity Commission -have continued to develop mentoring activity in Doha on countering terrorist finance, as well as arranging for a visit to the UK by a cross-agency Qatari delegation. We are planning for further engagement on the issue of terrorism and terrorist financing through the UK-Qatar Joint Security Committee (JSC) when it meets later this year.

Offences against Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of child grooming have been identified in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: Published data on police recorded crime on sexual grooming is available in the Office for National Statistics Bulletin published on 27 April 2017 as follows (Appendix Table A4): https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingdec2016 Information for the year ending March 2017 will be published on Thursday 20 July.

Immigrants: Detainees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have had indefinite detentions in the UK in each of the last five years; and what the age groups are of those people.

Brandon Lewis: It is not possible to detain people indefinitely in the UK under immigration powers. To be lawful, detention must last no longer than is reasonably necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was authorised, must not be unduly prolonged and, in relation to removal, there must be a realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable period of time.

Metropolitan Police

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2017 to Question 2727, what investment has been made since the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London occurred.

Mr Ben  Wallace: For reasons of national security we do not publically disclose detailed allocation of funding for counter terrorism by force area or by capability. The Government has a constructive dialogue with policing to ensure that the right powers, capabilities and resources are in place. Overall this Government has protected Counter-Terrorism police spend in real terms over the Spending Review period, and invested in counter-terrorism policing to grow key capabilities, including providing £144m to increase armed policing capability.

Fraud: Telephone Systems

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) educate the police and other law enforcement agencies on and (b) support the successful prosecution of telephony fraud crime.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Telephony fraud takes a number of forms such as telephone calls that impersonate a bank to persuade victims to transfer money to a fraudulent bank account; a remote attack on a telephony system; obtaining mobile telephony services by providing false details, or making nuisance calls. All telephony fraud should be reported to Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre. Fraud demands a collaborative, innovative response, to keep pace with the changing threat and new technology. That is why we launched the Joint Fraud Taskforce in February last year. I am keen that the full force of the law should be used to pursue, and prosecute fraudsters. Through the Joint Fraud Taskforce, we are working with the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, to educate the police, share best practice amd establish a consistent and transparent approach to fraud across all forces. The Joint Fraud Taskforce is also working to reduce the number of fraud victims and to improve the response received by those who do become victims of fraud. The Taskforce is developing a campaign to provide targeted advice to the public. It will take into account susceptibility to fraud based on research that demonstrates the attitudes and behaviours that leads people to become victims of fraud and online crime. The Joint Fraud Taskforce is also working to improve the response received by victims of fraud, ensuring individuals have the information needed to avoid falling foul to these types of scams.In May 2016, the Government also introduced a new requirement for all direct marketing callers to provide caller line identification and introduced a measure in the Digital Economy Act, making it a requirement for the Information Commissioner to issue a statutory code of practice on direct marketing.

Female Genital Mutilation

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to prevent female genital mutilation.

Sarah Newton: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls. Our work to end this practice is an integral part of the cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, which is backed by increased funding of £100m.We have significantly strengthened the law, including introducing a new offence of failing to protect a girl from FGM, lifelong anonymity for victims, and a mandatory reporting duty requiring specified professionals to report known cases in under 18s to the police. We have also introduced FGM Protection Orders to protect women and girls at the earliest opportunity - since their introduction in July 2015, over 100 orders have been made. To help raise awareness amongst frontline professionals, in April 2016 we published multi-agency guidance on FGM, which is now statutory, and we have developed free e-learning which has been completed by over 100,000 individuals to date. In addition, the Home Office’s FGM Unit is carrying out awareness raising outreach across the UK. Significant work is also under way to improve the response from health and social care professionals. The Department of Health, in partnership with the NHS, is leading a £4m national FGM Prevention Programme, and as part of the Department for Education’s £200m Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme a range of projects have been funded. DfE have also invested £375,000 to raise awareness amongst school staff and pupils.

Immigration Controls

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who absconded from ports of entry after being stopped by Border Force officers were subsequently recovered in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Due to the way in which absconder data is recorded, it is not currently feasible to make an informed estimate of the number of people who have absconded from ports of entry after being stopped by Border Force, or who were subsequently recovered. To establish this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Immigration Controls: Undocumented Migrants

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people absconded from ports of entry after being stopped by Border Force officers in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Due to the way in which absconder data is recorded, it is not currently feasible to make an informed estimate of the number of people who have absconded from ports of entry after being stopped by Border Force, or who were subsequently recovered. To establish this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Passports: Republic of Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications from residents of the Republic of Ireland were processed through the Belfast Passport Office between 31 March 2016 and 31 March 2017.

Brandon Lewis: Her Majesty’s Passport Office processed a total of 10,275 applications from residents in the Republic of Ireland from our Belfast office between 31 of March 2016 and 31 of March 2017.

Hate Crime: Acids

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many attacks involving a corrosive substance were treated as a hate crime in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office collects information on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police. Information is not held on how many of these hate crimes involved a corrosive substance. Information on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police is published on an annual basis in the statistical bulletin Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2015/16, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2015-to-2016 This Government is committed to tackling hate crime. The UK has a strong legislative framework to tackle hate crime. We are working across Government with police, (including National Community Tensions Team), the Crown Prosecution Service and community partners to send out a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated and we will vigorously pursue and prosecute those who commit these crimes. We have also announced a cross Government action plan to tackle the use of acid and other corrosives in violent attacks which includes improving police recording and reporting of offences.

Asylum: Homelessness

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refused asylum seekers have been made homeless in (a) the UK and (b) Liverpool for each of the last three years.

Brandon Lewis: All asylum seekers whose applications have been fully determined and have exhausted their appeal rights are required to leave the UK as soon as possible. Where failed asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are unable to leave the UK due to circumstances beyond their control they can continue to be supported until the barrier to their return is removed. The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support, including under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, in table as_18q in volume 4 of the Asylum data tables. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2017/list-of-tables#asylum

Counter-terrorism: Police

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many counter-terrorism liaison officers were in post in each Police area in England and Wales in 2010.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many counter-terrorism liaison officers were in post in each London Borough in (a) 2010 and (b) 2016.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of officers primarily employed in Counter Terrorism/Special Branch roles as part of the Police workforce, England and Wales statistical bulletin. This can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales. Data as at 31 March 2016 can be found in Table F4 of the police workforce statistics published in July 2016 at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/544954/police-workforce-tabs-jul16.ods These data do not include all officers supporting counter-terrorism work and excludes many of those posts funded separately by the Counter-Terrorism Policing Grant and those in some national counter-terrorism functions. For reasons of national security, we do not publish the number or location of posts funded by the Counter-Terrorism Policing Grant. The published figures do not, therefore, reflect the total number of officers assigned to counter-terrorism policing. Previous data were collected under a different framework, with different definitions. Therefore, data prior to 31 March 2015 are not directly comparable with later years. Although some functions may appear to be similar between the two frameworks, there are often differences in definitions, and so any attempts to compare across the two should be done with caution. Data under the old framework have been published since 2012, and can be found in the supplementary data tables of the relevant police workforce publications via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales The Home Office does not collect data on the primary functions of police officers at the level (London borough) requested, only at the police force area level. Any comparisons at force level should be made with care due to collaboration arrangements between forces for particular functions. Additionally, police functions data are often affected by re-structuring within police forces. Therefore comparisons over time for specific functions should be made with care.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Euratom

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK withdrawing from Euratom on cancer research in the UK.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 10 July 2017



The UK imports a wide variety of radioactive isotopes for medical use. These include radioisotopes used for medical imaging of cancers and for cancer therapy. As medical radio-isotopes are not special fissile material, they are not subject to international safeguards and their availability in the UK should not be impacted by withdrawal from Euratom.

Cancer

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on NHS cancer patients of the Government’s decision for the UK to leave Euratom.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 17 July 2017



The UK imports a wide variety of radioactive isotopes for medical use. These include radioisotopes used for medical imaging of cancers and for cancer therapy. As medical radio-isotopes are not special fissile material, they are not subject to international safeguards and their availability in the UK should not be impacted by withdrawal from Euratom.

Energy: Cardiff Central

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of constituents in Cardiff Central constituency who will benefit from the Government's proposals to safeguard customers on the poorest value energy tariff.

Margot James: Holding answer received on 20 July 2017



Ofgem is considering options to protect vulnerable consumers and has yet to announce a formal proposal. Alongside this Ofgem has announced a package of measures to help consumers move away from poor value tariffs.

Energy Supply: Electronic Warfare

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment the Government has made of the level of threat posed by cyber-attacks to (a) nuclear, (b) other power stations and (c) electricity grids.

Richard Harrington: Cyber security is one of the Government's top national security priorities and BEIS is continuing to work with other government departments and the National Cyber Security Centre, as well as with industry partners, to ensure that the threats to the energy sector are understood and that appropriate mitigations are established.For security purposes, we do not disclose details of potential threats to specific facilities.

Trading Standards: Fees and Charges

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what fee structures are published by primary trading standards authorities for services to appliance manufacturers.

Margot James: Local Authorities are required to publish clear and transparent information explaining any charges under the primary authority scheme, and the basis on which they are calculated. They can recover only those costs reasonably incurred in providing the service and they must have regard to the guidance issued by HM Treasury in “Managing Public Money” in calculating these costs.

Social Tariffs: Neath

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of constituents in Neath who will be covered by the Government's proposal to safeguard customers on the poorest-value energy tariffs.

Margot James: Ofgem is considering options to protect vulnerable consumers and has yet to announce a formal proposal. Alongside this Ofgem has announced a package of measures to help consumers move away from poor value tariffs.

Small Business Commissioner: Public Appointments

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2017 to Question 2615, how much his Department has spent on the process of recruiting a small business commissioner.

Margot James: Due to commercial sensitivities we would not publish the exact costs that have been agreed with external providers but any costs incurred by Public Appointment processes are always carefully considered to ensure value for money. The Department also makes use of free resources to advertise opportunities, such as the Cabinet Office Public Appointments website.

Companies

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2017 to Question 2614, how much his Department has spent consulting on the Green Paper on Corporate Governance Reform.

Margot James: The Department does not separately identify the cost of individual projects where they form part of officials’ regular duties.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), along with other Government Departments, is working with the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) to support the UK's exit from the EU. Within the FCO, the Europe Directorate provides advice to FCO Ministers on EU-related issues. This may sometimes include EU exit-related issues. There are some staff members in the FCO's Europe Directorate who work predominantly on the UK's exit from the EU. Staff in other London Directorates, as well as our diplomatic missions around the world, also on occasion work on EU-related issues and this may involve work related to the UK's exit from the EU. Therefore it is not possible to give precise figures.

Qatar: Terrorism

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he holds on reported support from Qatar for (a) Fateh al-Sham, (b) Hezbollah, (c) ISIS and (d) al-Qaeda.

Alistair Burt: ​As is the practice of previous governments we do not comment on matters of national security.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, how many contracts put out to tender by the Law Officers' Departments have been (a) cancelled and (b) re-tendered in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Government Legal Department (GLD), Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) do not specifically record information centrally on those contracts that have been cancelled and retendered, but the procurement team are not aware of any contracts that have been cancelled and re-tendered since 2010. According to Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) records held centrally, there have been no contracts that have been cancelled and re-tendered since 2010. The CPS is a devolved organisation, however, and it is possible that contracts have been awarded locally and subsequently cancelled. To collate any such contracts would involve checking large numbers of records across a number of CPS offices and would incur disproportionate cost (Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, part 2, clause 9). The information requested is not collated centrally at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and could only be obtained through a manual search of records, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Attorney General: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of public procurement contracts the Law Officers' Departments awarded through framework agreements in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Government Legal Department (GLD), Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) do not hold central records of the number of bids received for each contract (3982). In addition, while it is their policy to use frameworks (e.g. those established by the Crown Commercial Service, government departments or public sector bodies) either through direct award or through a mini-competition, we do not hold a central record that would enable us to determine the proportion of purchases/contracts made through these framework agreements (4012). We are therefore unable to provide the information without examining the detail of each contract award/purchase made and this could only be achieved at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the information requested (3982 and 4012) is not collated centrally at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and could only be obtained through a manual search of records, which would incur a disproportionate cost. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not keep a consolidated central record of the number of bids received for each contract (3982) or of which contracts are awarded via framework agreements (4012). To answer both these questions would involve separately checking all contracts awarded since 2010 and would incur disproportionate cost (Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, part 2, clause 9).

Attorney General: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Attorney General, what the average number of bids received for each contract put out to tender by the Law Officers' Departments was in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Government Legal Department (GLD), Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) do not hold central records of the number of bids received for each contract (3982). In addition, while it is their policy to use frameworks (e.g. those established by the Crown Commercial Service, government departments or public sector bodies) either through direct award or through a mini-competition, we do not hold a central record that would enable us to determine the proportion of purchases/contracts made through these framework agreements (4012). We are therefore unable to provide the information without examining the detail of each contract award/purchase made and this could only be achieved at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the information requested (3982 and 4012) is not collated centrally at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and could only be obtained through a manual search of records, which would incur a disproportionate cost. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not keep a consolidated central record of the number of bids received for each contract (3982) or of which contracts are awarded via framework agreements (4012). To answer both these questions would involve separately checking all contracts awarded since 2010 and would incur disproportionate cost (Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, part 2, clause 9).

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff in her Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Rory Stewart: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.Staff within the DFID Europe Department and DFID Trade for Development team based in the Department for International Trade, lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues.Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required.Given the interactions between EU Exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Department for International Trade: European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the potential number of Acts or parts of Acts in the remit of her Department that will be subject to repeal as a result of provisions in the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Rory Stewart: Government departments have been analysing the UK statute book and directly applicable EU law in their areas of responsibility to enable an assessment of the scale of the changes needed. This is likely to include the repeal, but also the amendment, of provisions in Acts but we are not in a position to give a sense of scale at this time.In the Government White Paper on the Repeal Bill [‘Legislating for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union’], published on 30 March 2017, we estimated around 800 - 1,000 EU-exit related Statutory Instruments will be required.

Department for International Development: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much and what proportion of her Department's expenditure has been identified as relating to its work on the UK leaving the EU in 2017-18.

Rory Stewart: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.EU Exit is managed within the existing departmental budget and given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Department for International Trade: Welsh Language

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which of her Department's online services are available in the Welsh language only on request.

Rory Stewart: DFID follows government guidance on providing Welsh language content on request.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Correspondence

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on correspondence that was sent by (a) Ministers and (b) Parliamentary Private Secretaries in each financial year since 2009-10.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but the Department does not hold information about correspondence sent by Parliamentary Private Secretaries, and the information about Ministers’ correspondence is not available other than at disproportionate cost.

Employment: Disadvantaged

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to prevent embedded elitism within the professions and higher-paying careers from restricting access to such careers for working-class students.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Improving social mobility requires support from all parts of society: government, employers and civic organisations. The Secretary of State recently spoke at the launch of the Social Mobility Employers Index. The Index highlights how employers, including government, are taking steps to ensure talented people from all works of life can access good jobs. I strongly encourage employers to sign up to the Index next year. We are also taking further specific action. In the Industrial Strategy we set out that we are reviewing the current careers offer for people of all ages. We will build on the best international evidence to publish a comprehensive careers strategy later this year.The Careers & Enterprise Company will also ensure every secondary school in an Opportunity Area has an Enterprise Adviser, and will provide, for every young person, four encounters with the world of work. This support will focus the whole education community in areas of the country where social mobility is lowest.

Schools: Buildings

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was spent per pupil on improving the condition of school buildings in (a) Barnsley East constituency and (b) the UK on average in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not hold data on condition funding for schools by constituency, and has responsibility for schools in England only. The Department has allocated over £9 billion in school condition funding nationally from 2011-12 to 2017-18. Allocations total £1.4 billion a year in every year from 2011-12 to 2017-18. In addition, the £4.4 billion Priority School Rebuilding Programme is rebuilding or refurbishing those school buildings in the worst condition across the country.Barnsley East is part of Barnsley local authority, which received condition funding (including Devolved Formula Capital, provided directly to schools) of over £24 million from the 2011-12 to 2017-18 financial years, an average of £3.5 million per year. This totals £4.7 million in 2011-12, £4.1 million in 2012-13, £3.5 million in 2013-14, £2.7 million in 2014-15, £2.8 million in 2015-16, £3.4 million in 2016-17 and £3.5 million in 2017-18. Local authorities decide how allocations are distributed to maintained schools in their areas. These amounts do not include allocations made to academies in the area. As academy trusts often allocate funding across local-authority boundaries, it is not possible to calculate condition funding per pupil for a local area.Details on current and future school condition allocations are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allocations.A breakdown of Devolved Formula Capital funding by institution is available for 2017-18: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-allocations.

Schools: Knives

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory requirements for schools to take effective safeguarding measures against knife crime.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There are no circumstances in which it is acceptable to take weapons into school. Doing so is likely to be a criminal offence and may have serious consequences.The Department for Education issues statutory guidance to schools, Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE, September 2016), to which all schools must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. KCSIE is clear that all school staff have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can learn. Schools have a statutory power to search for, and confiscate, prohibited items such as knives and weapons. The Department for Education has produced advice for schools, Searching, screening and confiscation: advice for schools (updated September 2016,) which makes it clear that school staff can search pupils and their possessions without consent where there are reasonable grounds to do so. If a pupil refuses to be searched, the school may bar them from the premises. The Government has taken steps to tackle behaviour and discipline in schools. Teachers’ powers to search pupils have been strengthened by adding to the list of prohibited items and allowing schools to search for any items banned by the school’s rules. As well as a more general power to search for items that have been, or could be, used to cause harm or break the law, teachers can also search for prohibited items.Keeping children safe in education is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.Searching, screening and confiscation: advice for schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.

GCSE: Disadvantaged

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Social Mobility Commission's report: Time for Change: an assessment of government policies on social mobility 1997-2017, what steps her Department is taking to improve the attainment of children eligible for free school meals at GCSE.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Education welcomes the Commission’s report which considers efforts to improve social mobility over the last twenty years. The Commission rightly concludes that too often life chances can be determined not by effort and ability but by where you come from, who your parents are and which school you attend. Educational achievement is at the heart of government’s commitment to make this is a truly meritocratic country and we have spent over £11bn since 2011 - almost £2.5bn this year alone - through the pupil premium to tackle educational inequality. The pupil premium provides schools with additional money to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, most of whom are current or past free school meal claimants, of all abilities. This complements our work since 2010 to raise standards for curriculum, assessment and accountability, and our £72 million investment in Opportunity Areas where we are working to break down the barriers to social mobility that too many still face.  The government has provided the Education Endowment Foundation with £137 million to expand the evidence base and communicate to schools what works best to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils; schools are held to account for their use of the pupil premium through Ofsted inspection and information in performance tables. Further information about the pupil premium is available at https://www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and-alternative-provision-settings. The gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, measured by the department's gap index, has narrowed by 9.3 per cent at age 11 and 7.0 per cent at age 16 (GCSE) since 2011, the year the pupil premium was introduced. The 2016 GCSE figures show ongoing narrowing of the gap from 3.80 points to 3.78 points. This means better prospects for a more prosperous life as an adult. But we know there is more to do; the Department will set out further details on policy to tackle social injustice in due course.

Social Services: Southampton

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people Southampton City Council supports for child services.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but we do not collect data on the total number of children local authorities support through children’s services departments. We do publish data on numbers of ‘children in need’ in each local authority area. A child in need is defined under the Children Act 1989 as “a child who is unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their health or development will be significantly impaired, without the provision of services, or the child is disabled.” The number of children in need at 31 March 2016, for Southampton City Council was 3,444.This information is publically available in table B1 of the “Characteristics of children in Need 2016-17” main tables, which can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/characteristics-of-children-in-need-2015-to-2016.

Primary Education: Breakfast Clubs

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on offering free breakfasts for all primary school children.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As announced by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System on 4 July we will not be pursuing universal breakfasts for primary school children and we will be retaining the existing provision for universal infant free school meals. We will however invest in a breakfast club programme as announced in the Childhood Obesity Plan in August 2016. This committed £10 million a year of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to expand breakfast club provision in up to 1,600 schools. Further details of the programme will be announced in due course.

Children: Sports

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department provides to local authorities for offering free sporting activities during the summer holidays.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department does not provide any direct funding to local authorities, specifically for offering free sporting activities during the summer holidays. However, we want all children to be healthy and active, and the government supports sporting activities for children through a number of programmes. Since 2013 we have provided over £600 million of ring-fenced funding to improve PE and sport in primary schools, and have committed to doubling the primary PE and sport premium to £320 million a year from September 2017 using revenue from the soft drinks industry levy. Schools have the freedom to decide how best to use the funding based on the needs of their pupils, and some schools may elect to provide extra-curricular activities for pupils during the school holidays. This however is a decision for the school, based on their local circumstances. In addition to providing funding through the premium there are also a number of initiatives underway across government to improve levels of physical activity in children. Public Health England, Disney and Sport England are collaborating on the Change4Life '10 Minute Shake-ups', and will be providing additional funding to support the initiative and get children between the ages of five and 12 active over the summer holidays. Sport England is investing up to £40 million into projects which offer opportunities for families with children to get active and play sport together outside school.

Department for Education: Public Expenditure

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on forecasted funding for her Department in the event that the UK leaves the EU and only operates as a member of the WTO in its trading relationship with the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As part of our preparations for exiting the European Union, the Government is in the process of carrying out a programme of rigorous and extensive analytical work across departments. This programme will contribute to our exit negotiations with the European Union and inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the United Kingdom’s domestic policies and frameworks. This Department’s interests will be fully considered as part of this process and we are planning for a range of scenarios, working alongside HM Treasury and the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Educational Psychology

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many educational psychologists were employed in all local authorities in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The head count of educational psychologists reported as employed by all local authorities in England in November 2016 is 1,600. This figure will undercount the actual number of educational psychologists because only 64 per cent of local authorities provided data in the latest year. Information is not yet available for 2017.

Teachers: Training

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to provide additional training to teachers on child protection and safeguarding.

Nick Gibb: The Teachers’ Standards 2011 set out that teachers should safeguard children’s wellbeing as part of their professional duties.All programmes of initial teacher training (ITT) must prepare teachers to demonstrate that they have met these Standards. The same Teachers’ Standards are also used to assess a newly qualified teacher's performance at the end of their induction period.  All trainee teachers are provided with the following at the commencement of their training in each school: the child protection policy, the staff behaviour policy (sometimes called a code of conduct), information about the role of the designated safeguarding lead and a copy of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), the Department’s statutory safeguarding guidance.When a teacher starts work in a school, KCSIE sets out that they should receive child protection and safeguarding training at induction. This training should be regularly updated. Induction and training should be in line with advice from the Local Safeguarding Children Board.The Department strengthened the guidance in September 2016 and it now sets out that in addition to training, teachers should receive regular safeguarding and child protection updates, as required, and at least annually.

Department for Education: Mass Media

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many public engagements for which a media calling notice was issued were attended by a departmental Minister in each of the last 12 months.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but information on ministerial attendance at public engagements for which a media calling notice was issued is not readily available or held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Technology: Education

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the future role of technology in classrooms; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education conducted an internal review in 2016 on educational technology (EdTech), looking at the role of Government in supporting teachers and leaders to realise the benefits of technology. Since this time, the Department has been engaging with both educators and the EdTech sector to identify good practice, opportunities and challenges. The Department also held an event with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy challenger programme team, bringing together education leaders and industry to help identify key barriers to embedding technology within educational practice.We are currently building on this work through a further series of stakeholder events to identify potential solutions to these barriers and plan to make an announcement once this work is complete.

Department For Education: Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the value-for-money framework which her Department applies to all private finance 2 projects.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department has no framework of its own for assessing value for money; instead it follows the framework set out by HM Treasury in the Green Book, “appraisal and evaluation in central government”.

Schools: Insulation

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the update on school cladding safety checks published by her Department on 13 July 2017, what additional resources will be made available to the relevant local authorities to (a) remove ACM cladding from the school buildings on which they have been found and (b) ensure that those school buildings will be of limited combustibility.

Nick Gibb: Ensuring school buildings are safe is our top priority. Since 2015, we have committed more than £4bn to maintain and improve the condition of the school estate, including £1.4bn in 2017-18. Where remedial work is deemed necessary for schools to remain safe for continued use, we will work with local authorities and other responsible bodies to ensure that lack of financial resources will not prevent it going ahead.The two academies where ACM cladding has been identified have been alerted to the test results. As a precautionary step, both schools have already been inspected by the Fire and Rescue Service who confirmed appropriate measures are in place to mitigate the risks from potential fire, and the buildings have now been declared safe for continued use.The Department for Education is continuing to work closely with the schools concerned to support them and ensure all the necessary steps are taken to ensure the continued safety of the buildings.All schools already have to follow a range of strict fire safety regulations designed to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of a fire. They must have robust plans to follow in the event of a fire, conduct regular fire drills, install sprinklers if an assessment deems them necessary and typically have multiple exit routes.

Drama: Qualifications

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding per student her Department provides to schools in order to fulfil the entitlement that every student taking drama GCSE or A level experiences live theatre.

Nick Gibb: The updated content for GCSE drama and A level drama and theatre studies clarifies that all pupils studying for these qualifications have the entitlement to experience live theatre. This reaffirms the Government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education. Taking pupils to see a live performance is a small part of the cost of providing a drama GCSE or A level and a small portion of a secondary school’s overall budget. The vast majority of schools already take GCSE and AS/A level drama students to live performances.We have just announced that under the national funding formula there will be an additional £1.3 billion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, on top of existing spending plans. This means that core funding for schools will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19. In 2019-20, this will rise again to £43.5 billion. Full details of the arrangements are set out at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/justine-greening-statement-to-parliament-on-school-funding.

Mathematics: Education

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the publication of the report by Sir Adrian Smith on post-16 mathematics.

Nick Gibb: Professor Sir Adrian Smith’s review of post 16 mathematics has been published, alongside a letter from myself, responding to the review. The report and letter responding to the review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smith-review-of-post-16-maths-report-and-government-response.

Department for Education: Ministers

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason (a) the number of Ministers of her Department has reduced by one in the current Parliament and (b) there is no longer an early years Minister in her Department.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As the new Minister for Children and Families, the early years and childcare agenda is an important part of my portfolio and a top priority for me and for this Government.I am committed to ensuring that all children have access to high quality early education, which the evidence shows has a positive impact on a child’s outcomes later in life. Bringing early years under the same portfolio as my other responsibilities is a valuable opportunity to make even more progress on important cross-cutting issues including social mobility and improving outcomes for special educational needs and disadvantaged children.A full list of my Ministerial responsibilities are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state-children-and-families.

Schools: Insulation

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been contacted by her Department to submit cladding for testing.

Nick Gibb: The Government is taking the potential impact from the tragic Grenfell Tower fire very seriously. Building owners across the public sector estate have been contacted to ensure any risks are managed and dealt with appropriately and promptly. As part of this, we have contacted all bodies responsible for safety in schools, further education colleges and universities instructing them to carry out checks to identify any building which may require further investigation.The two schools to date, where ACM cladding has been identified and tested, have been alerted to the results. As a precautionary step, both schools have already been inspected by the Fire and Rescue Service who confirmed appropriate measures are in place to mitigate the risks from potential fire, and the buildings have now been declared safe for continued use.The Department for Education is continuing to work closely with the schools concerned to support them and ensure all the necessary steps are taken to ensure the continued safety of the buildings.All schools already have to follow a range of strict fire safety regulations designed to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of a fire. They must have robust plans to follow in the event of a fire, conduct regular fire drills, install sprinklers if an assessment deems them necessary and typically have multiple exit routes.

Department for Education: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in her Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department has four members of staff working full time on co-ordinating and contributing to cross-department and cross-government work on EU exit. These staff are supported by a range of civil servants across the department who lead on specific policy areas and whose work includes, but is not limited to EU exit work.

Schools: Finance

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the cost to the public purse of ensuring that no school receives a reduction in funding as a result of the national funding formula in the 2018-19 financial year.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure that the Government increases its funding for local authorities sufficiently to ensure that no school will receive a cut in funding as a result of the imposition of the national funding formula.

Nick Gibb: We are providing an additional £1.3 billion for schools across 2018-19 and 2019-20 to support the introduction of the national funding formula from April next year. Along with the funding we had already committed for schools at the 2015 Spending Review, this will mean the core schools budget rises from just under £41 billion in 2017-18 to £43.5 billion by 2020. The additional investment means that, over the next two years, we will be able to provide for a 0.5% a year per pupil increase for every school. Full details of the arrangements are set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/justine-greening-statement-to-parliament-on-school-funding.

Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of teachers and school leaders to receive training through the Teaching and Leadership Fund in 2017-18.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education is concluding the procurement of the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund at present. The procurement has been designed to be responsive to bidders’ proposals and, as such, the Department has not made ‘top-down’ estimates of numbers to receive training in 2017-18.

Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which organisations have been selected to take part in the Teaching and Leadership Fund.

Nick Gibb: The Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund is the subject of an open procurement under the 2015 Public Procurement Regulations. At present, the Department for Education is concluding this procurement. Details of the successful bidders will be released in due course.

Teachers: Labour Turnover

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is given to schools experiencing difficulty in attracting and retaining teachers.

Nick Gibb: We have more teachers in our schools than ever before and the number of teachers has kept pace with changing numbers of pupils. We are, however, aware that recruitment can be challenging for some schools.We are therefore continuing to invest in recruitment; at the 2015 Spending Review we announced we would invest £1.3bn up to 2020 to attract new teachers into the profession. We have also given more schools the means to address recruitment locally, encouraging them to make greater use of pay flexibilities and retention allowances. We also continue to invest in professional development so the best teachers stay in the profession.In addition, we are continuing our extensive work with the profession to remove unnecessary workload, the most frequently cited reason for teachers wanting to leave the profession, so that teachers can concentrate on teaching, rather than bureaucracy. This includes implementing the recommendations of the three independent review groups from the 2014 Workload Challenge – ineffective marking, use of planning and resources, and data management.

Arts: Education

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department plans to spend on high quality industry creative courses in schools in the next five years.

Nick Gibb: Technical and applied qualifications in creative industry subjects are available to students as part of their funded Key Stage 4 and 16-19 study programmesWhen new and more substantial technical education programmes (‘T levels’) are introduced in the Creative and Design route for 16-19 year olds, there will be additional funding for them, as part of an additional £500 million per year for T levels in generalThe Education Secretary also recently announced an additional £1.3billion for schools funding over two years - meaning schools funding will be £2.6 billion higher.In November 2016 we announced a package of funding for music and cultural education that is designed to improve access to the arts for all children. For 2017-18 we are providing over £120 million to support a range of music and cultural education programmes including £75 million for music education hubs.

Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much each organisation that has been selected to take part in the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund has been awarded.

Nick Gibb: The Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund is the subject of an open procurement under the 2015 Public Procurement Regulations. At present, the Department for Education is concluding this procurement. Details of the successful bidders will be released in due course. Contract values are commercially confidential.

Worksop Town Football Academy

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken in relation to Worksop Town football academy since March 2017.

Anne Milton: The former Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, Robert Halfon, wrote to the hon. Member in April 2017 in response to concerns he had raised about Worksop Town football academy.I have asked officials to meet with the hon. Member to discuss further action in relation to his correspondence on this issue.

Education Funding Agency: Leeds

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Education Funding Agency has completed its purchase of 1 The Embankment, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4DW.

Nick Gibb: The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) did not complete the purchase of 1 The Embankment, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4DW because planning permission was not granted by Leeds City Council. In agreement with the Free School Trust, the ESFA is now seeking to secure a suitable site within Wakefield.

Worksop Town Football Academy

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of students on the 2015-16 West Anglia College/Worksop Town FC academy who attended an examination in 2016 for either mathematics or English.

Nick Gibb: Performance data on students at the end of 16-18 study in 2015/16, at The College of West Anglia, is available as part of the school performance tables1. 16-19 provision at the Worksop Town FC academy was funded by the Department in 2015/16 through a sub-contracting arrangement managed by the College of West Anglia. The Department does not hold student information at the level of Worksop Town FC academy.  1 Data for this institution can be found here: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/130763.

Primary Education: West Sussex

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her oral statement of 17 July 2017, Official Report, column 563, on school funding, what estimate she has made of per capita funding to be provided to West Sussex primary school pupils in 2018-19.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State announced an additional £1.3 billion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, in addition to the schools budget set at Spending Review 2015. As a result, core funding for schools will rise from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19 and £43.5 billion in 2019-20.The details of the formula, including primary and secondary units of funding for each local authority, will be set out in September when we respond to the consultation in full.

Teachers: Recruitment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in what years her Department has not met its target for teacher recruitment for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools from 2010 to 2017.

Nick Gibb: Statistics showing the number of teachers recruited each year against the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) targets for primary and secondary phases for the 2012/13 to 2016/17 academic years are available in table 1b of the ITT Census 2016/17 statistical publication[1]. Equivalent figures for 2010/11 and 2011/12 are available in table 1b of the ITT Census 2015/16 statistical publication[2].Please note that due to methodology changes, the figures for 2015/16 and 2016/17 include Teach First trainees whereas earlier years do not.   [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census-2016-to-2017.[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census-2015-to-2016.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Finance

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what budget has been allocated to the Equality and Human Rights Commission for (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

Nick Gibb: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Budget for the years 2017 – 2020:2017-182018-192019-20£19.3m£18.3m£17.4m The EHRC has, and will continue to receive sufficient funds to enable it to fulfil its statutory functions.

Schools: Cost Effectiveness

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her oral statement of 17 June 2017 on school funding, Official Report, column 568, by what process she will identify programmes for further efficiency savings; and when she plans to complete that process.

Nick Gibb: As the Secretary of State set out in her statement on 17 July 2017, we will make £315 million savings from the healthy pupils capital programme, reflecting reductions in the forecast revenue from the soft drinks industry levy, and release £280 million in savings from our free schools programme by working more efficiently to deliver our ambitious programme. This includes working more collaboratively with local authorities to provide free schools to meet basic needWe will identify the rest of the savings from efficiencies across the rest of the Department’s budget as we believe strongly that this funding is most valuable in the hands of head teachers and principals. The Secretary of State has asked the Department to conduct an internal exercise to identify these efficiencies without impacting on the delivery of our key priorities. We will say more about the outcome of this exercise in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff in his Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Dominic Raab: Staff within the Ministry of Justice’s EU exit policy team lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure. Exit is an all-of-Government operation. The Department for exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with Departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobcentres: Internet

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to introduce online booking for jobcentre appointments.

Damian Hinds: In 2018 it is planned that claimants will be provided with the ability to book and manage their own appointments online through Universal Credit Full Service. There are currently no plans to introduce an online appointment booking system for claimants in receipt of benefits that are planned to migrate over to Universal Credit Full Service from July 2019 onwards.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had their welfare entitlement reduced after completing an application for tax free childcare.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not available.Tax-Free Childcare provides support to parents for their childcare costs. We estimate that around 2 million working families will have access to the scheme.Parents cannot receive support from Tax-Free Childcare where they are in receipt of Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit. However, families who are eligible for both will have the freedom to choose which scheme best meets their needsThe Department for Work and Pensions continues to work closely with HM Revenue and Customs to ensure the schemes complement each other effectively, and that parents will have the guidance they need in order to make an informed decision on which scheme will provide the best support for them.

Office for Nuclear Regulation: Staff

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff the Office for Nuclear Regulation has at each (a) grade, (b) age profile and (c) gender.

Penny Mordaunt: This information has been published in the Office for Nuclear Regulation Annual Report and Accounts 2016/17 HC67. The publication is available on the ONR website and GOV.UK

Office for Nuclear Regulation: EURATOM

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Exiting the EU and (b) Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the implications of leaving Euratom for the Office for Nuclear Regulation; and on what dates those discussions took place.

Penny Mordaunt: The nature of future arrangements with Euratom and the EU will be subject to negotiation. Our aim throughout the negotiations with the European Commission will be to maintain our mutually successful civil nuclear cooperation with Euratom and the rest of the world. The scope of these arrangements will determine the cost and will not necessarily consist of an exact replication of the Euratom nuclear safeguards regime. We are working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Exiting the EU to ensure that the Office for Nuclear Regulation will be in a position to take on the role and responsibilities required to meet our international safeguards, and nuclear non-proliferation, obligations.

Office for Nuclear Regulation: Staff

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff working for the Office for Nuclear Regulation are (a) British and (b) citizens from other countries.

Penny Mordaunt: As at 31 March 2017 ONR had a headcount of 559 of those 98% were of British or dual nationality (539 British and 7 of dual nationality) and 2 % (13) were citizens from other countries.

Office for Nuclear Regulation: Finance

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what level of funding his Department has provided to the Office for Nuclear Regulation in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the level of funding his Department will provide in each of the next three years.

Penny Mordaunt: The Office for Nuclear Regulation vested in 2014. Details of the funding has been published in the ONR Annual Report & Accounts which are available on the ONR website and on GOV.UK. The Department budget has been assigned as part of the Spending Review 2015 Settlement. The Department is continually reprioritising its agenda to achieve this based on the operational, political and financial position.

Health and Safety Executive: Staff

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2017 to Question 3064 how many fire experts are employed by the Health and Safety Executive; and if he will list their specialisms.

Penny Mordaunt: HSE's regulatory responsibility covers process fire precautions - the management of fire and explosion risks arising from work processes such as chemical manufacturing, or the storage of dangerous substances at work. HSE employs staff with the expertise required to carry out the necessary inspections, investigations and assessments on the sites for which it has regulatory responsibility. With regards to the regulation of fire and explosion risks, HSE employs a total of 70 specialists with expertise in a range of industrial fire-related areas: 20 specialist process safety inspectors with technical knowledge of the hazards and risks of fires and explosions arising from onshore industrial activities. Their work focuses on ensuring businesses have suitable equipment and procedures to prevent fires and explosions arising from the processes they undertake, and measures to mitigate in the event of an incident. 9 explosives inspectors who undertake similar functions on licensed explosives sites as well as providing technical knowledge regarding explosives across HSE. 11 offshore process engineering and fire and explosion specialists. 27 specialists in frequency and consequence modelling of industrial process fires such as fireballs and jet fires resulting from gas escapes. 3 experts with experience in relevant applied research and additional knowledge of fire & explosions in factories, chemical sites, warehouses, and unusual environments such as buildings under construction and, tunnels.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control: Keswick

Trudy Harrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide adequate funding for flood defences in Keswick.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government has invested £5.7million to deliver a flood risk management scheme for Keswick, which was completed in 2011 and better protects at least 180 residential and commercial properties with a standard of protection of 1.33% chance of flooding occurring in any given year.Following Storm Desmond in December 2015, the Environment Agency commissioned a £3 million appraisal to construct the necessary business cases to better manage flood risk in a number of communities throughout Cumbria, including Keswick.The Environment Agency has developed an extensive list of options on how it could manage flood risk at a catchment scale. For the local communities to be more involved in decision-making, the Environment Agency has shared these options with all communities within the Derwent catchment. Shortlisted options are expected in autumn 2017 and will further support future funding applications for flood risk management in Keswick.A bid for funding for Keswick has been submitted as part of the process to refresh the Government’s six year capital investment programme. The outcome of this bid will be confirmed to the North West Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFFC) in October 2017.The Cumbria Flood Action Plan also sets out what the Environment Agency and partners are doing to reduce flood risks across Cumbria, based around river catchments, and incorporates actions from a range of partners in Keswick. As part of the plan, Cumbria County Council is to undertake works on a surface water scheme on Penrith Road by March 2020 and United Utilities are investigating how they can make changes to the way they operate the Thirlmere reservoir. The Environment Agency is facilitating discussions between United Utilities and Keswick Flood Action Group.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in his Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

George Eustice: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.Staff within the EU Exit Programme in Defra lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues and members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required.Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Nature Conservation

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timetable is for bringing forward the new Control of Trade in Endangered Species regulations.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Work is in progress to update the Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulations. We intend to finalise our proposals over the coming months.

Supermarkets: Waste Disposal

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to (a) prohibit supermarkets from throwing away food that is out of date by one day and (b) require supermarkets to provide such food items to food banks.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government favours a voluntary approach to reducing food waste and is working with food businesses through a voluntary approach to reduce it, including through redistribution when surplus food cannot be avoided. We have been working with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) on its review of date labelling and related advice for food businesses. Among other things, this guidance aims to remove key barriers to redistribution, for example, by providing advice on what can and cannot be done as the “best before” date approaches or is passed. WRAP launched a consultation on this guidance on 6 July this year and intends to publish the final guidance in the autumn.  Business signatories to the Courtauld 2025 Commitment are aiming to double the amount of food surplus they send for redistribution to a range of organisations between 2015 and 2020. We do not have plans to legislate.

Rowanoak Waste Services: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Environment Agency powers to tackle sites such as the site operated by Rowan Oak Waste at Shaw Road in Dudley.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In 2015 the Government consulted on enhancing regulators’ powers to tackle non-compliance with waste regulations at sites operated under an environmental permit. A large majority of the respondents were supportive of the proposals, and of additional measures detailed as part of a call for evidence run alongside the consultation.The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 were subsequently amended in 2015 to give the Environment Agency four new powers, including to suspend permits where the permit conditions are breached and to take steps to remove the risk of pollution at non-compliant sites. Further details are outlined in the Government response to that consultation: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/waste-crime-improving-enforcement-powers-to-reduce-persistent-non-compliance-at-waste-handling-sites.The Government is currently finalising draft regulations which will give the Environment Agency the power to secure premises to prevent additional waste being deposited, and the power to require operators to remove all waste deposited at a non-compliant site, including waste deposited lawfully.The Government is also developing proposals to provide the Environment Agency with more powers to assess the competence of waste operators. This assessment would apply to existing and prospective waste operators, and could therefore lead to refusal of new environmental permits, and revocation of existing permits, where operators do not meet appropriate standards.

Dogs: Imports

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2017 to Question 70622, on what date the new reporting system was permanently introduced; for what reason the data recorded on the Pets Database and presented in the Answer to Question 62238 was inaccurate; and what the margin of error was in the data used in the Answer to Question 62238.

George Eustice: In July 2015 the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) began piloting a parallel system to establish the accuracy of data available from the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) database. Defra is evaluating options for a new permanent system.The data provided in PQ62238 was taken from the parallel system piloted by APHA, and is believed to be an accurate representation of the number of animals entering Great Britain. However, there may be unavoidable errors due to manual data entry onto spreadsheets by the carriers.

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2017 to Question 1556, how many people have received the maximum six months imprisonment for the most serious cases of animal cruelty in each of the last five years.

George Eustice: The number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody for the maximum penalty for offences under Sections 4 to 8 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2016, can be viewed in the table below. Defendants sentenced to the maximum penalty (1) for offences under selected sections of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, England and Wales, 2012 to 2016 (2)(3)  Section of Act201220132014201520164351335-----6-----7-----8-----'-' = Nil(1) Six months imprisonment(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure has been identified as relating to its work on the UK leaving the EU in 2017-18.

George Eustice: Over 80% of Defra’s agenda is linked to the European Union. As a result, Defra has reviewed and reprioritised its work programme so that many roles across the Defra group are now supporting EU exit-related work, either directly or indirectly. It is therefore not possible to give an isolated figure of budget for the EU Exit programme alone.

Fisheries: North Sea

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether any of the fishing limits set within the North Sea Annual Plan are at a level that is not capable of producing maximum sustainable yield; and whether there are plans for those limits to be capped at the threshold advised by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

George Eustice: We remain committed to fishing at MSY. In the North Sea multi-annual plan (MAP), the target fishing mortality ranges and the conservation reference points aim to ensure stocks are fished at rates consistent with maximum sustainable yield. We expect the range and reference points to be reviewed regularly to take account of the latest stock advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. The North Sea MAP has not yet been adopted and the ranges and reference points set out in the proposal may need to be reviewed to ensure they are consistent with scientific advice for 2018.

Rodents: Pest Control

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidences of rat and mice infestation were recorded in England by his Department in each year for which data is available.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Department does not record incidences of rat and mice infestation in England.

Seagulls: Urban Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the urban seagull population in England.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra does not hold information in relation to a recent estimate of the number of urban seagulls.

Department for Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Government will review the fire safety regulations to ensure that highrise accommodation is required to have sprinklers.

Alok Sharma: Building regulation guidance provides that newly built high rise accommodation, over 30 metres, is constructed with a sprinkler system.The Department wrote to all social housing providers in 2013 following the recommendations in a Coroner’s report into firefighter deaths which occurred at Shirley Towers in Southampton in April 2010. That letter encouraged providers to consider the retrofitting of sprinklers in older residential tower blocks. The Department then reinforced the content of that letter in its response to the Coroner’s report into the Lakanal House Fire – a copy of which can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205567/Annex_B_-_SoS_DCLG_Rule_43_response.pdfAn independent expert panel has been set up to provide advice to the Government on any immediate measures needed to make buildings safe following the Grenfell Tower fire. The panel will be led by Sir Ken Knight, former London Fire Commissioner and former Government Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser. It will consider safety measures, policies, inspection and regulation, taking account of both the Grenfell Tower fire and ongoing fire safety inspections. It will look at any immediate action required to ensure public confidence that everything possible is being done to make all public and private buildings safe as quickly as possible.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what additional Government funding is required to make 68 units in the Kensington Row development available to Grenfell Tower survivors at social rent; and whether that funding will be allocated from HM Treasury or from existing departmental allocations.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 10 July 2017



Discussions are on going between the parties to the deal. Our priority is to get everyone who has lost their home permanently rehoused as soon as possible, so that they can begin to rebuild their lives. We are working to ensure that the first families can move in to their new homes shortly.

Leasehold

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will commission an expert panel to review the leasehold sector.

Alok Sharma: The Housing White Paper sets out the Government’s approach to promote transparency and fairness for the growing number of leaseholders. We will also consider the outcome of the Law Commission’s consultation on its 13th programme of law reform. Our manifesto said we would crack down on unfair practices in leasehold; we will consult shortly where the most urgent reform may be needed, as well as in due course to look at wider reforms in the medium-term, both of which will be informed by experts with an interest in leasehold reform. We will continue to work with experts to inform wide ranging leasehold reforms, as well as recommending specific changes to leasehold, such as the Technical Group looking into updating section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. This group had its inaugural meeting on 11 July 2017.

Private Rented Housing: Licensing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of borough-wide licensing schemes in raising standards and improving safety in the private rented sector.

Alok Sharma: Licensing is an effective targeted tool delivering improved standards and safety in the private rented sector in specific areas that are suffering from serious problems.In April 2015 further conditions for applying selective licensing were introduced, so local authorities could target defined areas with problems such as deprivation, high crime and poor property.Any scheme submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation will be considered on its merits and whether it meets the statutory requirements in Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many of the cladding samples that failed safety tests were not compliant with building regulations for buildings higher than 18 metres.

Alok Sharma: The Department’s view is that external walls in a tower block can meet the Building Regulations requirement for resisting fire spread in two ways. The first is for each individual component of the wall to be of limited combustibility, and to each meet set standards. The second is to ensure that all the combined elements of a wall, when tested as a whole system, have sufficient fire spread resistance to meet a set standard.We are currently undertaking further testing of whole external wall systems to determine whether they would have sufficient fire spread resistance. We will release further details when the findings are available.

Housing: Construction

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment report, entitled More homes, fewer complaints, published in July 2016; and what assessment has been made of the implications for his policies of section 4.1 of that report on improving workmanship and inspection.

Alok Sharma: The Government welcomes the contributions of the report to improving the quality and workmanship of new housing in England. In respect of specific recommendations made in the report, we have taken action to enable inspection records to be made available to building owners on request.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many staff in his Department have responsibilities which relate to preparations for the UK leaving the EU.

Jake Berry: EU exit is an all-of-Government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Within the Department for Communities and Local Government, staff within the EU Exit Team lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department's other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Buildings: Safety

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what advice he has sought from Local Resilience Forums on ensuring building safety following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Alok Sharma: Since the Grenfell Tower fire the Department has worked in partnership with multiple agencies. Officials have continued to support local resilience forums and have participated in meetings with key emergency planning stakeholders.

Change of Use

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review the effectiveness of permitted development rights; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: Permitted Development rights play an important role in freeing up the planning system to enable development to take place more quickly without the need to seek full planning consent. In the recent Housing White Paper we consulted on extending the rights for the conversion of agricultural buildings to residential use to help increase the provision of housing for rural workers and extending the existing agricultural permitted development rights to help farmers adapt more quickly to changing agricultural practices. We are reviewing responses received.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support has been provided to survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire who are unable to speak English.

Alok Sharma: Translation services are provided by the local authorities that manage the Westway Assistance Centre, with additional support available from voluntary sector organisations.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether building cladding that failed safety testing by his Department should be removed.

Alok Sharma: On 22 June we issued advice that sets out the immediate steps landlords should be taking to ensure fire safety following the identification of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding.It is for building owners to consider whether to remove cladding. Removal of cladding needs to be done safely and without compromising other aspects of the building’s external wall system. Whilst they should take expert professional advice on this, the Department also published advice on 14 July, in a note to all building control bodies, which highlighted the key Building Regulation requirements when cladding work on high rise buildings over 18 metres tall is undertaken. That note can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ensure-that-recladding-work-meets-building-regulations-advises-expert-panel

Emergencies: Risk Assessment

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to revise his Department's guidance Local authorities preparedness for civil emergencies as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Alok Sharma: In her statement of the 22 June, the Prime Minister said that the Government will develop a new strategy for resilience in major disasters, which could include a new Civil Disaster Response Taskforce that can help at times of emergency.

Affordable Housing: Greater London

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the affordability of starter homes with a value of up to £450,000 in London for individuals on low and middle incomes.

Alok Sharma: The Housing and Planning Act 2016 set a maximum price cap of £450,000 for a starter home in London, and in many parts of London the price of a starter home should be much lower than this cap, as the starter home will need to be priced at least 20 per cent below its market value. We have also consulted as part of the Housing White Paper on a maximum gross household income threshold for a starter home of £90,000 in London, the same level as shared ownership, to ensure any starter homes are targeted to those struggling to buy their first home.

Letting Agents: Fees and Charges

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on which date he plans to publish the findings of the consultation, entitled Banning letting agent fees paid by tenants, published on 7 April 2017.

Alok Sharma: The Government's eight week consultation on banning letting fees paid by tenants closed on 2 June. Over 4,700 responses were received, which are being analysed. The Government will publish its response in due course once all the data and responses have been considered.The Government recently announced in the Queen’s Speech its intention to publish a draft Bill to ban letting fees paid by tenants in England. A ban will help to deliver a more competitive, more affordable and more transparent lettings market. The approach taken in the draft Bill will be informed by the consultation responses.

Private Rented Housing

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve the mechanisms of support for people facing hardship while renting in the private sector.

Alok Sharma: Government spends around £24 billion a year on housing benefit to support people with their housing costs. Government is also providing local authorities with over £800 million in Discretionary Housing Payments funding between 2016 and 2021 to help support vulnerable claimants.In addition, 30 per cent of potential savings from the Local Housing Allowance freeze will be used to create further Targeted Affordability Funding from 2017 to help tenants in those areas where local housing allowance rates have diverged the most from local rents.The key to improving affordability in the private rented sector across England is to build more homes. Our Housing White Paper, published in February, included measures to deliver more homes and reform the housing market. A copy is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fixing-our-broken-housing-market

Letting Agents

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make it mandatory for letting agents to (a) display details of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme used for each property and (b) be a member of a client money protection scheme.

Alok Sharma: Letting agents are required, under the transparency requirements in the Consumer Rights Act 2015, to publicise prominently in their offices and on their website, a full tariff of their fees, whether they are a member of a client money protection scheme and of which redress scheme they are a member.Landlords, or letting agents acting on their behalf, are required to protect a tenant’s deposit in a Government authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme and to provide the tenant with the details of the scheme under which their deposit has been protected.Baroness Hayter and Lord Palmer of Childs Hill carried out a review of Client Money Protection earlier this year. The Government published the report in March 2017 and announced its intention to accept the working group’s recommendation to make Client Money Protection mandatory.

Fires: Disability

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Grenfell public enquiry will give due regard to the needs of disabled people and make recommendations on their protection and means of escape in case of fire.

Alok Sharma: Before the public inquiry starts, the inquiry Chair will consult all those with an interest, including survivors and victims’ families, about the terms of reference. Following that consultation the Chair will make a recommendation to the Prime Minister, who will return to Parliament with the final terms of reference for the inquiry once this process has taken place. Matters of procedure and conduct for the inquiry are for the Chair to determine.

Forests and Trees: Conservation

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government response to the Housing White Paper will consider ancient woodland and veteran trees.

Alok Sharma: We are currently analysing responses to the public consultation on the Housing White Paper, which included proposals to strengthen the protections afforded to ancient woodland and aged or veteran trees when preparing plans or making decisions on planning applications. This change to national planning policy would place these irreplaceable habitats alongside other policies, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Green Belt, National Parks and designated heritage assets.

Wales Office

Children: Poverty

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many and what proportion of children were living in poverty in Neath in each year for which data is available.

Alun Cairns: The poverty threshold as measured by the UK Government and the European Union is 60 per cent of median household income. Statistics are published as part of the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) Households below Average Income (HBAI) release. The HBAI statistics are not produced on a constituency basis. Estimates of child poverty by constituency are published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), based on benefits and tax credits data. These are available for the years 2006-2014 on the constituency profiles website. Differences in methodology mean the HMRC estimates are not directly comparable with the headline national and regional poverty estimates published in DWP’s HBAI release.

Electoral Register: Neath

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many 18 to 25-year-olds in Neath are (a) included in the latest census estimate and (b) recorded on the electoral register.

Alun Cairns: The ONS published experimental data on mid-2015 population estimates for Parliamentary constituencies in October 2016. The data shows that there were 6,500 18 to 25 year olds in Neath. A breakdown of the constituency register by age is not available.

Wales Office: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure has been identified as relating to its work on the UK leaving the EU in 2017-18.

Guto Bebb: The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other Government departments, including the Wales Office. The Wales Office does not identify expenditure on EU exit separately from overall expenditure. Work relating to exiting the EU forms part of the policy portfolio of most staff.

HM Treasury

Excise Duties: Beer

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received Small Breweries Relief in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17.

Andrew Jones: HM Revenue and Customs is unable to provide details of the number of UK brewers who have received Small Breweries Relief without undertaking a detailed examination of available records.

Companies: Ownership

Caroline Flint: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings he has had with representatives from the UK's Overseas Territories on public registers of beneficial ownership in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: The Chancellor has meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.

Tax Evasion

Caroline Flint: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the amount of revenue lost to the Exchequer as a result of tax evasion in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the amount of revenue lost to the Exchequer as a result of tax avoidance in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: For the latest five years for which the requested information is held, it is available in the Measuring Tax Gaps publication at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gapsPlease refer to table 1.5 on page 19

Revenue and Customs: Grievance Procedures

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 72 of the HM Revenue and Customs Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17, when the grievance test will be removed.

Mel Stride: The Grievance test is planned to be removed by December 2017.

Revenue and Customs: Sick Leave

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 113 of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17, how many HMRC employees have been dismissed on the grounds of sickness absence since the introduction of the new attendance management policy.

Mel Stride: This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Revenue and Customs: Sick Leave

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 113 of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17, how many HMRC employees have been issued with written improvement warnings since the introduction of the new attendance management policy.

Mel Stride: The number of HMRC employees issued with written improvement warnings since the introduction of the new attendance management policy is as set out in the table below.   Type of warningSickness absence periodNumber of employees issued with noticeFirst Improvement Warning4 separate periods of sickness absence130Final Improvement Warning4 separate periods of sickness absence27First Improvement Warning8 days of sickness absence in 12 Months309Final Improvement Warning8 days of sickness absence in 12 Months36Total 502

Revenue and Customs: Sick Leave

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 113 of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17, how many HMRC employees have lodged appeals against written improvement warnings since the introduction of the new attendance management policy.

Mel Stride: We do not hold this information in the format requested and it could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Revenue and Customs: Sick Leave

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 113 of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17, how many HMRC employees have been referred for occupational health advice since the introduction of the new attendance management policy.

Mel Stride: The new attendance management policy was introduced in September 2016. Between September 2016 and 30 June 2017, 10,641 referrals were made for occupational health advice.

Revenue and Customs: Grievance Procedures

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 72 of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17, how many complaints submitted by HMRC employees in 2016 were judged not to have passed the grievance test.

Mel Stride: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Taxation: Environment Protection

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses received an exemption from the carbon price floor for fossil fuels used in a combined heat and power station to generate good-quality electricity consumed onsite in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received an exemption from the carbon price floor for fuels used in combined heat and power stations to produce non-electrical outputs in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses received a climate change levy exemption for energy used in metallurgical and mineralogical processes in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many children aged between two and sixteen were exempt from air passenger duty in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received a relief from the hydrocarbon oils duty for the tied oils scheme in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17.

Andrew Jones: HMRC do not have the information on the number of beneficiaries of these reliefs.

Taxation: Multinational Companies

Caroline Flint: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions the Government had at the June 2017 G20 summit on a multilateral agreement on public country-by-country reporting.

Caroline Flint: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made on reaching a multilateral agreement under which the UK will adopt public country-by-country reporting.

Mel Stride: The UK has led international action to enhance tax transparency. This included initiating the international work on country-by-country reporting during its G8 Presidency in 2013, and being the first country to commit to implement the OECD model for country-by country reporting with legislation in the 2015 Finance Act. The Government believes a multilateral approach to public country-by-country reporting would help ensure effective implementation. The UK has raised public country-by-country reporting with international partners and the Government will continue to engage with our international partners, including at EU level, on this issue.

Revenue and Customs: Location

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, to what extent HM Revenue and Customs took account of local labour market conditions and regional economic prospects when it decided to close many of its existing offices and move to regional centres.

Mel Stride: I refer the honourable gentlemen to my written answer on 11 July 2017, (UIN 2583) which refers to the to the location principles HMRC used to select its regional centres. Whilst accepting there may be an impact on locations it is leaving, HMRC is committed to maximising tax revenue, increasing compliance and reducing the tax gap while delivering best value to the taxpayer. However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) expects the economic impact on locations it is leaving to be limited as those taking up posts in a regional centre will continue their normal activities where they live and the office accommodation HMRC vacates is likely to be re-let or redeveloped by the landlords.

Taxation: Electronic Government

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs' employees are permitted to access their own personal tax account when using their work computer.

Mel Stride: Access to personal tax and National Insurance records is strictly controlled. Staff are not permitted to use HMRC systems to access their own tax records.

Equal Pay: Public Sector

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the gender pay gap is within HM Revenue and Customs.

Mel Stride: The HMRC Gender Pay Gap is available online at the government website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-gender-pay-gap-2015/hm-revenue-and-customs-gender-pay-gap-2015

Cabinet Office

Small Businesses: Arfon

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount and (b) proportion of public procurement spent by the Government placed with small and medium-sized enterprises in the Arfon constituency in each of the last three years.

Caroline Nokes: In 2014-15, Central Government spent over £12 billion (27.1%) with small and medium sized businesses, which shows a continued year on year increase in SMEs winning public procurements. The Manifesto committed to ensuring of 33% of spend with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.Information on all public sector suppliers within a specific constituency is not held centrally.

Regulation

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2017 to Question 861, on regulation, if he will set out the £850 savings referred to by (a) region and (b) sector of those businesses.

Caroline Nokes: The Red Tape Challenge did not make an analysis of the impact of deregulatory reforms on a geographical or business sector basis and therefore the Cabinet Office is unable to provide such a breakdown. In November 2016, policy responsibility moved from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Iron and Steel: Procurement

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to monitor adherence to changes made to steel procurement guidelines in the last two years by (a) local authorities and (b) central Government Departments; and what assessment he has made of the ability of (i) local authorities and (ii) central Government Departments to adhere to those procurement guidelines.

Caroline Nokes: Last December, the Government issued updated guidance on how to ensure that they take full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting their procurement activities; and extended this guidance to the wider public sector.Since publication of the guidance, we have been working closely with central government departments to monitor the impact and effectiveness of the guidance.

Conservative Party-DUP Agreement

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) destination, (b) departure time and (c) landing time was of the Royal Air Force flight which took Arlene Foster back to Northern Ireland after the completion of the negotiations between the Government and the Democratic Unionist Party.

Damian Green: The destination of the flight was Belfast International Airport, it departed Northolt at 1305 and arrived in Belfast at 1440.

Conservative Party-DUP Agreement

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any Government Ministers were on board the Royal Air Force flight which took Arlene Foster back to Northern Ireland after the completion of the negotiations between the Government and the Democratic Unionist Party.

Damian Green: There were no Government Ministers on this flight.

Cabinet Office: Staff

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have the word trade in their job title.

Caroline Nokes: We do not currently hold data on roles in the Cabinet Office that would enable us to provide you with a response.I can confirm that no current roles in both the Big Lottery Fund and the Crown Commercial Service have the word “trade” in their job title.

Public Sector: Equality

Dawn Butler: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Government is still carrying out its audit of racial disparities in public services.

Damian Green: The Government continues to carry out work on the Race Disparity Audit which will be published in Autumn 2017.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff in his Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Mark Garnier: The whole of Government is preparing for the UK to make an orderly and successful exit from the European Union. The Department for Exiting the European Union, is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations, by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within DIT’s Trade Policy Group lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related trade issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Staff

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff in her Department have responsibilities relating to the UK leaving the EU.

Matt Hancock: The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepared for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the DCMS EU Team lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analyses on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department's other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Data Protection and Internet

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2017 to Question 2821, on the internet, and the Answer of 10 July 2017 to Question 3119, on data protection, when the Government plans to publish (a) its proposals for the Digital Charter and (b) the Data Protection Bill.

Matt Hancock: As announced in the Queen's Speech, we will put forward proposals for a Digital Charter and introduce a Data Protection Bill during the current parliamentary session.

Social Media: Hate Crime

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2017 to Question 3684, on social media, hate crime, on what occasions have Ministers met social media companies since 2015; and who they have met at those meetings.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2017 to Question 3683, on social media: hate crime, (a) at what location and (b) on what dates Ministers or officials of  her Department visited social media companies since 2015.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2017 to Question 3685, on what dates Ministers or officials from her Department met social media companies in 2017; whom they met; and which meetings involved Ministers.

Matt Hancock: Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on Gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-1-january-to-31-march-2017)

Advertising: Complaints

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many complaints have been made to the Advertising Standards Authority in each of the last five years.

Matt Hancock: The number of complaints received by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) can be found in the joint annual reports of the ASA and Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), archived here: https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-and-resources/resource-library/annual-reports.html.

Telephones: Fraud

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage Ofcom to use its existing power under Article 28(2) Universal Service Directive to intervene in cases of telephony fraud originating in the EU.

Matt Hancock: We are committed to ensuring consumers are protected from harmful and fraudulent practices, and works closely with Ofcom to make sure necessary steps are taken to do so. Ofcom shares concerns over telephony fraud and is keen to take appropriate action to combat fraud and misuse of electronic communications services and telephone numbers. Ofcom is working with telecoms providers to explore ways of reducing its occurrence and preventing perpetrators from benefitting from fraudulent activity. With reference to Ofcom’s powers to require providers to block access and withhold revenue in cases of fraud or misuse, which we have transposed into UK regulation from Article 28(2) of the Universal Service Directive, Ofcom recently consulted on and confirmed in a statement published on 28 June 2017 its approach to issuing directions requiring telecoms providers to block access and withhold revenue associated with fraud or misuse. It has used this power already to tackle nuisance calls and is looking further at its application. The government provided funding to National Trading Standards in the last parliament to roll out call-blocking devices to the most vulnerable people in society to protect them against nuisance calls.

Codes of Practice: Social Media

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish a code of practice for providers of online social media platforms.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has for the consultation on the code of practice to be issued to providers of online social media platforms to include (a) hate conduct and (b) extremist content.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to include in the consultation on the code of practice for providers of online social media platforms reference to how that code might be updated periodically in the light of future technical developments.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, from whom will she seek contributions from for the consultation on the code of practice for social media providers.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has for the consultation on the code of practice for providers of online social media platforms to include provision for how such providers might co-operate fully with the police in the event that posted content might be criminal.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish a code of practice for providers of online social media platforms.

Matt Hancock: I refer the Hon Member to the response to PQ 4728.

Privacy: Social Media

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps are being taken to ensure that all employers are aware that they cannot monitor employees' on-line services accounts covertly unless it is part of a lawful investigation in England and Wales.

Matt Hancock: The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent authority responsible for administering and enforcing information rights and provides guidance and advice to individuals and organisations on, among other things, the protection of individual's data. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has produced guidance for employers on staff monitoring. This guidance can be found at:https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1128/quick_guide_to_the_employment_practices_code.pdf

Data Protection: Global Positioning System

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps are being taken to ensure that cloud account holders who have given permission for their location data to be collected be given reminders every six months so that they have an opportunity to withdraw that permission.

Matt Hancock: The forthcoming Data Protection Bill will introduce a number of new rights and safeguards for individuals, including renewed rights on consent and the withdrawal of that consent, in particular circumstances. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) recently published draft guidance on consent under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The draft guidance can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/consultations/2013551/draft-gdpr-consent-guidance-for-consultation-201703.pdf

Free Movement of People: Musicians

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that British musicians will continue to be able to travel across Europe for touring and rehearsal purposes after the UK has left the EU.

Matt Hancock: I refer the Hon. Member to the response to PQ 3046.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Welsh Language

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which of her Department's online services are only available in the Welsh language on request.

Matt Hancock: The Government is committed to ensuring that the needs of Welsh language speakers are recognised and met, in accordance with the requirements of departmental Welsh Language Schemes.

Department of Health

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number of routine operations which have been delayed in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not held centrally. Information on the number of cancelled elective operations is published quarterly by NHS England.

NHS Trusts: Weather

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the capacity of NHS Trusts to provide safe and high quality care throughout the winter in 2017.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Health Service is committed to providing high quality care year round, with specific measures put in place each winter to manage the extra pressures of the season. Joint National Urgent and Emergency Care Director for NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to local accident and emergency delivery boards on 14 July 2017 to set out national operational priorities for winter 2017/18. Local systems, amongst other priorities, are focused specifically for 2017/18 on reducing both NHS and local authority delayed transfers of care to free up 2,000-3,000 beds nationally which will enable hospitals to operate with lower occupancy during a period of typically higher emergency admissions. To support this, the Government has allocated local authorities £2 billion over the next three years, including £1 billion for 2017/18, to implement best practice in discharging patients safely and quickly. In addition, as announced in the Spring Budget, £100 million of funding to support trusts to deliver of primary care streaming in accident and emergency departments by October 2017, as a component of improving performance against the 95%, four hour accident and emergency standard.

Ambulance Services: Private Sector

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government plans to take to regulate independent ambulance services.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 June 2017 to Question UIN 990.

Department of Health: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much and what proportion of his Department's expenditure has been identified as relating to its work on the UK leaving the EU in 2017-18.

Mr Philip Dunne: All affected policy teams within the Department are involved in assessing the implications of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union on their area. They have a prominent role in the Department’s programme for exiting the EU, which is supported internally by teams with cross-cutting functions and a team coordinating the work.It is difficult to provide a breakdown between specific exit related activity and normal activity of the teams concerned. However, the resources available are kept under constant review and the Department is equipping itself with the resources it needs to get the best deal for the UK.

Royal Brompton Hospital

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that patients of the specialised paediatric respiratory and paediatric cystic fibrosis services at the Royal Brompton Hospital will be fully consulted by the panel established to consider the potential effect of NHS England's congenital heart disease proposals on those services.

Mr Philip Dunne: This is a matter for NHS England. No decision has been made to close the Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) service at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England has advised that they have performed impact assessments for all centres which would be impacted by its CHD service change proposals if implemented. We have been informed by NHS England that these initial assessments acknowledged that there would be an impact on paediatric respiratory and cystic fibrosis services at the Royal Brompton, if NHS England’s proposals were implemented. NHS England has advised that a panel including respiratory clinicians and representatives from respiratory and cystic fibrosis patient and public groups has been created to assess the potential impact of its CHD service change proposals on the Royal Brompton’s paediatric respiratory services. This panel has arranged to visit the Royal Brompton in August and has requested to meet patients as a part of this.

Emergency Calls: Internet

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on 999 callers being assessed via video-call technology such as Skype to determine whether an ambulance should be sent; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether South Central Ambulance Service informed his Department that it would trial the assessment of 999 callers by Skype video link.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulance trusts are trialling the assessment of 999 callers by Skype video link.

Mr Philip Dunne: The appropriate use of technology in the response to 999 calls is a matter for local National Health Service ambulance trusts, and this is not centrally monitored. It is vital that 999 callers receive the most appropriate clinical response, when they need it. We are advised that South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has been openly testing technology which enables clinicians to see and talk to responders and patients in appropriate situations, to triage patients better and organise the help that they need. This is not in place of sending an appropriate ambulance response.

NHS: Finance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS Mandate and Constitution continues to apply to areas subject to the capped expenditure process.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to mitigate the effect of the capped expenditure process on diagnostic services for cancer.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Government is committed to increasing the National Health Service budget to ensure patients can get the care they need. NHS spending will increase by £8 billion in real terms by 2020-21, from a baseline of 2015-16 and for the first time to deliver an increase in real funding per head of the population for every year of the Parliament. As with all public services, local NHS areas need to live within the budget agreed – otherwise they effectively take up resources that could be spent on general practitioners, mental health care, and cancer treatment. As part of their financial planning, NHS England and NHS Improvement have been running a process to look at how a small number of areas could do more to balance their financial plans, as many already have. NHS England has advised that none of the submitted plans will have a detrimental effect on diagnostic services for cancer. All NHS services must be consistent with the NHS Mandate and Constitution. But it is right that the NHS should consider efficiency savings such as reducing delayed transfers of care, or reducing running costs – because this improves patient care overall.

NHS Property Services: Internet

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure transparency data on the NHS Property Services website is kept up to date.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Property Services (NHSPS) is aware that some of the published transparency data on its website such as company expenditure and contracts is not up to date. NHSPS is currently introducing new IT systems and platforms and has given a commitment to publish available data later this year.

Heart Diseases

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the report to be produced by the independent consultants analysing the responses to the consultation by NHS England on the reconfiguration of congenital heart disease services will be made public at the same time it is sent to NHS England.

Mr Philip Dunne: This is a matter for NHS England. No decisions have been made regarding NHS England’s Congenital Heart Disease service change proposals. NHS England has advised that they intend to publish the independent report regarding the consultation responses in full, and they anticipate that the report will be published alongside the papers provided to the NHS England Board to enable it to reach its commissioning decisions.

General Practitioners: Service Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from GP practices on service charge increases.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP practices are subject to charges for unbilled historical service delivery.

Mr Philip Dunne: All general practitioner (GP) practices who are tenants in properties owned by the Department’s property companies - NHS Property Services (NHSPS) and Community Health Partnerships, which between them own about 20% of the GP estate in England - are subject to service charges related to their occupancy which are raised in the financial year to which they relate. Where these charges have not been paid in prior years they remain outstanding and overdue for payment. Occupiers are not currently charged interest on any overdue payments. The Department is aware that many GPs have complained through different channels about the impact of the introduction of the market rent model by NHSPS to the National Health Service in January 2016, which applies the property sector’s standard method of charging. It was part of a long-planned move across the public sector to improve utilisation and value for money in property occupancy by putting publicly-owned property on a level with privately-owned alternatives, the most common model of GP ownership. As part of the new market rents model, invoices should be based on accurate property information such as the precise amount of space used, as well as reflecting an assessment of the facilities provided for that space, e.g. cleaning, reception services and maintenance. This data was not always available in predecessor primary care trust or strategic health authority records.Where an NHSPS building is leased to an NHS service provider the tenant pays rent, service charges and facilities management costs. However the rental, business rates and water and sewage elements of the charge are reimbursed back to the NHS service provider, via NHS England and the local clinical commissioning group. The Department has provided an additional £127 million to the NHS England Mandate with effect from 2016/17 financial year to fund these increased costs within the NHS of this policy change. Within the Premises Cost Direction 2013 under sections 46 and 47, there is the facility for the GP to apply to NHS England for transitional funding related to large increases to non-reimbursable charges such as the balance of the service charges and facilities management costs.

Endoscopy

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals for a national endoscopy strategy.

Mr Philip Dunne: Our strategic plan for addressing increased demand for endoscopic procedures is being addressed through the delivery of NHS England’s Cancer Strategy. To support delivery of endoscopic services and the Secretary of State for Health’s commitment of an additional 200 clinical endoscopists by 2018, Health Education England has launched an accelerated training programme for clinical endoscopists (formally non-medical endoscopists) to carry out low risk, high volume procedures that previously were carried out by doctors.

NHS: Recruitment

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to fill vacancies for medical staff in the NHS.

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the level of vacancies for medical staff at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: Over recent months the National Health Service has seen record numbers of doctors employed. Since May 2010 the numbers of doctors has increased by almost 11,700. Responsibility for staffing levels rests with individual NHS trusts and their boards who are best placed to decide how many staff they need to provide a given service, taking into account skill mix, efficiency and the needs of their local population. By increasing the number of medical school places in England by 1,500 we are ensuring the right number of doctors are trained so that the NHS can continue to deliver safe, compassionate and effective care well into the future.

Medical Treatments Abroad: European Economic Area

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was recharged by European Economic Area Governments from the UK for health costs incurred by UK citizens in 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hendon (Dr Matthew Offord) on 11 July 2017 to Question 2506.

Department of Health: Welsh Language

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which of his Department's online services are only available in the Welsh language on request.

Mr Philip Dunne: Most of the Department’s guidance and consultations apply to England only, so they are not routinely translated into Welsh. However, when guidance or consultations affect Wales, these are provided on GOV.UK in both English and Welsh - for example the consultation earlier this year on allowing schools to hold spare adrenaline auto-injectors.The majority of health services information for Wales is published on the Welsh National Health Service website or the Welsh Government’s website which are available at the following links:www.wales.nhs.ukgov.wales/topics/health/

NHS Property Services: Shares

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of shares in NHS Property Services Ltd are publicly owned.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Property Services is a limited company, registered at Companies House, and 100% owned by the Secretary of State for Health, to whom it is accountable. It is governed by a company Board consisting of a Chair, Chief Executive and an appropriate mix of executive and non-executive directors, including a Departmental ‘shareholder representative’ Director.

NHS Property Services: Income

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the income was of NHS Property Services Ltd in each of the last three years.

Mr Philip Dunne: A summary of income extracted from the audited accounts for NHS Property Services for the financial years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 is set out in the following table. Year ending 31 March 2015 (£ million)Year ending 31 March 2016 (£ million)Year ending 31 March 2017 (£ million)Income746685685

Hospitals: Vacancies

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS hospitals have had vacancies for medical staff unfilled for more than (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four years.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not held centrally. Health Education England (HEE) provides estimates of staff shortages and the plan for tackling these issues as part of their Workforce Plan for England publication. The latest figures are available at the following link.https://hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Workforce%20Plan%20for%20England%202016-17.pdfHEE plan to publish the Workforce Plan for England 2017/18 in due course.

Health Professions: Training

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is the Government's policy to ensure that all medical trainees gain experience working in mental health disciplines.

Mr Philip Dunne: Health Education England (HEE) has already increased to 50% the proportion of doctors undertaking a four month psychiatry post during their foundation programme training and the Royal College of Psychiatry will complete the review of this expansion with a view to HEE commissioning a further expansion from 2019. In addition to this, HEE is to ensure that from 2018 all foundation programme doctors not undertaking the four month training post will be required to complete a two week ‘taster’ attachment in psychiatry.

Women and Equalities

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the decision to abolish the post of Disability Commissioner in 2017 was taken at a meeting of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Board.

Nick Gibb: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent public body and decisions about the roles and responsibilities of its Board members, and how these are communicated within the organisation, are matters for the Commission itself. I have therefore asked the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer to write to my hon. Friend with the information requested. I will place a copy of the letter in the libraries of both Houses.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Heidi Allen: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, on what dates (a) the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, (b) the Deputy Chair, (c) the Chief Executive, (d) any other member of the Board of the Commission, (e) any member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Disability Advisory Committee and (f) any employee of the Commission were first made aware (i) verbally, (ii) electronically and (iii) by any other means of the appointment of Lord Shinkwin to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Heidi Allen: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, on what dates in 2017 the Board of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (a) discussed and (b) approved the abolition of the post of Disability Commissioner and whether that decision was (i) voted on, (ii) approved unanimously and (iii) made by a majority vote.

Heidi Allen: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the decision to abolish the post of Disability Commissioner in 2017 was taken outside of an Equality and Human Rights Commission board meeting; whether the standard procedure for the board to make decisions outside of board meetings was followed; what electronic or hard copy records exist of communications relating to (a) the possibility of abolishing and (b) the decision to abolish the post of Disability Commissioner in 2017 (i) from or to individual board members and (ii) by any employees of the Equality and Human Rights Commission; and if she will place a copy of those records in the Library.

Heidi Allen: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what process the board of the Equality and Human Rights Commission uses to take decisions outside of formal board meetings.

Heidi Allen: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, on which dates the Board of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (a) discussed and (b) approved the abolition of the post of Disability Commissioner; and whether the decision was (i) voted on, (ii) approved unanimously or (iii) subject to a majority vote.

Nick Gibb: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent public body and decisions about the roles and responsibilities of its Board members, and how these are communicated within the organisation, are matters for the Commission itself. I have therefore asked the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer to write to the my hon. Friend with the information requested. I will place a copy of the letter in the libraries of both Houses.